Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Sagano Tour — Guide Kazu

What Is a Private One-Day Kyoto Tour Like on the Final Day of a Japan Trip? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visiting from North America. They had traveled through Tokyo, Hakone, Hida-Takayama, and Kanazawa, and had arrived in Kyoto the day before, with today being the final day of their trip before flying home the next day. Since it was their last day, I felt a great sense of responsibility and set out determined to do my very best. I explained everything from scratch as a kind of grand summary — Japan's political history, religious culture, the importance of Onmyodo, food, the spirit of Zen, how Shinto and Buddhism intertwine in daily life, and the messages conveyed by karesansui dry landscape gardens and chisen-kaiyu strolling pond gardens. Having already spent two weeks in Japan, the guests recognized many of these terms, but they tend to slip from memory, so I believe hearing my explanations again helped deepen their understanding. At the end, as I usually do, I asked for a review, and to my surprise they accessed the site and wrote one on the spot. They said that since they would be flying the next day and would surely forget, they would write it right then. This may have been the fastest I have ever received a review. I was very grateful. They also gave me two SUICA cards, saying they would no longer be using them. They said there might be some balance left, or there might not — they weren't quite sure — but they didn't need them anyway, so they handed them over. As I took them home, they joked that it would be nice if there was a lot left, and I checked on my way back, half-hoping for a decent amount — only to find each had a balance of 98 yen (not USD)! But I was grateful all the same.

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Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama